


walk away, but still come back to it

by LittleQueenTrashMouth



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Fluff, Halloween, Trick or Treating
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-31
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-03-08 23:14:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,538
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27314623
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittleQueenTrashMouth/pseuds/LittleQueenTrashMouth
Summary: Mai is taking her younger brother trick-or-treating, and stumbles across an old flame.
Relationships: Mai/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 7
Kudos: 83
Collections: Canon Ship Fics of AtLA





	walk away, but still come back to it

**Author's Note:**

> Just a little Halloween fluff in these Unprecedented Times. And obviously Halloween is Maiko's time to shine!

_“But how can you walk away from something and still come back to it?”_

_“Walk around the world.”_

_“Small world.”_

* * *

“How is your hand already sticky?” Mai wearily asked her younger brother as he dragged her down the street. 

“Candy, duh,” he answered, as though it were obvious. She supposed it was, considering they were trick-or-treating. She had been keeping an eye on Tom-Tom to monitor his candy intake so he didn’t eat himself sick, but he had apparently managed to outmaneuver her. 

“Are you going to share?”

Tom-Tom hummed in thought. “Maybe. Depends on how much else I get.” Mai couldn’t help the way her mouth curled into a soft smile, nor that her hand tightened around his, despite the stickiness. Though she had been out of her parent’s house for a few years now, she always made sure she was back in time to take Tom-Tom trick-or-treating. 

( _”Mai, you really don’t have to do that, I’m sure you’re busy with school,” her mother sighed the first year she came home for Halloween. “We’ll have the maid take him out.”_

_“No,” Mai had stubbornly replied, and that was the end of the argument._ )

They rounded a corner and approached a new line of houses. Tom-Tom led her up the walkway to a modestly decorated porch. He let go of her hand to ring the doorbell, presenting his hollow plastic pumpkin in anticipation of candy.

“Trick or treat!” Tom-Tom crowed, just as excited as he had been at the beginning of the night.

“Happy Hallow—Mai?” The raspy voice cut off its own holiday greeting, startling Mai into looking away from her brother and up at the man that had opened the door.

At first, Mai didn’t recognize him. He was about her height, maybe a hair taller, but had broad shoulders and muscular arms. His shaggy black hair had been drawn back in a messy ponytail at the base of his neck, though a few strands escaped to frame his face. He would have been unfairly, ethereally handsome, were it not for the large burn scar sprawling across the left side of his face.

Mai stood, frozen, as the man’s expression went from hopeful to embarrassed. But there was something familiar in his warm brown eyes, and the shy smile. 

“Zuko,” she breathed, unable to tear her eyes away from the person she hadn’t seen in five years. He brightened up when she said his name.

“Yes, it’s me!” The smile faded and one hand went self-consciously to his scarred cheek. “Oh, right. I didn’t have this when...when you last saw me.”

“You mean when you ignored me for a month and then broke up with me by text?” Maid said coldly. Her astonishment at seeing her ex-boyfriend again, walking distance from her parent’s house, quickly soured to the usual bitterness that she now associated with him. “No, you didn’t have the scar then.”

Zuko winced. “Right. I’m sorry, I swear I had a good reason for that.”

“I’m sure you did.” Mai put a hand on Tom-Tom’s shoulder; he was starting to get fidgety over the lack of candy. Zuko’s eyes were drawn back down to him, then shot back up to Mai’s in alarm.

“Is that your…”

“You remember Tom-Tom, my brother.” Mai felt herself color slightly at the implication that Tom-Tom was her child, though it was a common occurrence by this point. “He was barely a year old when you last saw him.”

“Oh, Tom-Tom!” Mai sternly told herself not to read too much into Zuko’s relief that Mai didn’t have a son. Zuko crouched down in front of her brother, though not with the easy grace of someone who was really comfortable with kids. “I like your dragon costume.” 

“Thank you. Trick or treat!” Tom-Tom repeated, insistently holding out his pumpkin basket. Zuko’s mouth quirked into an amused grin as he stood back up, reaching back inside his house and pulling out a handful of candy from the bowl by the door. Tom-Tom bounced excitedly on the balls of his feet as Zuko repeated that motion three times, giving him way too much candy. 

Mai rolled her eyes. “Thanks for that, my parents are going to be thrilled when he doesn’t sleep for three days.”

“Oh, sorry, I guess I should have asked,” Zuko mumbled. Mai almost felt bad for her harshness, until she remembered receiving Zuko’s break-up text a month after they graduated from high school. She hadn’t seen or heard from him in that time, despite the increasingly furious messages she left for him.

“Anyway, let’s get going.” Mai used her hand on Tom-Tom’s shoulder to steer him away from the door, ready to leave Zuko and all the complicated emotions that seeing him brought up.

“W—wait!” Zuko called, holding one hand out. “Please, I’m sorry, let me explain.”

“I don’t really want to hear it.”

“Mai, please. _Please._ ” Mai had never heard Zuko beg before. She hesitated on the porch.

“I can’t stay now, Tom-Tom isn’t done.” Whatever excuses Zuko had for her would never be enough to cut into this time she spent with her brother.

“I’ll come with you,” Zuko replied instantly. 

She groaned, but before she could say anything, Tom-Tom piped up. “Yes, he should come!”

Mai glared down at the boy, her eyes narrowed. “Why?”

“‘Cause you guys match!” Mai looked over at Zuko and noticed, for the first time, what his Halloween costume was. She had to admit, hers was a little more elaborate; she had spent some time sewing her cape with a spiked collar that stuck straight out behind her head. Zuko’s was clearly a poorly-fitting costume he had bought in a shop. They both had a trickle of red paint running down their chin, but Zuko had bought and abandoned a pair of plastic fangs that were now sitting on the table next to the door. Mai had found a delicate pair of fake canines that she could glue over her real teeth that poked into her bottom lip whenever she talked.

Zuko seemed to come to the same realization as her, and smiled. “Of course you’re a vampire for Halloween,” he chuckled. Mai could feel herself flush through the white paint on her face. “Well that settles it, I’m coming,” he said decisively. She ruthlessly thought that he never did _anything_ decisively, unless it was something that would annoy her. She longed to pull Tom-Tom away in the brief moments that Zuko disappeared inside to grab his keys, but whenever she tugged on her brother’s hand, he resolutely stood firm. 

They continued down the street, now with an extra vampire in tow. Tom-Tom seemed content to walk a few paces ahead of Mai and Zuko, and to leave them at the sidewalk when he went up to each house. 

“So,” Zuko cleared his throat. “How have you been?”

Mai bit back a sharp remark and answered honestly. “Fine. I graduated from undergrad last year and just started grad school. I’m getting a master’s in art history.” Mai had never really had any particular field that she cared passionately about, but the longer she stayed in school, the more time she had before her parent’s expected her to settle down and get married. 

“That’s awesome! I knew you’d do something amazing.” Zuko’s enthusiasm sounded genuine, just like it always had. It sent another pang through her heart, that there was so much of her old love still in him. They had grown up together, he had been her best friend, and he was her first and only real boyfriend. It would almost be easier if he were cruel and callous now. 

She looked away. “It’s okay.” They both quieted as Tom-Tom joined them on the sidewalk, holding up the spider toy he had been gifted at the last house. He very solemnly gifted it to Zuko, who didn’t quite know how to react, but he carefully slipped it into his pocket. They continued walking, Mai noting that Zuko always made sure to walk on her left side, so when she looked at him she’d see his unblemished face.

He was waiting for her to ask, but she would not. Finally, he sighed. “Well, you know after high school I was supposed to study business, and take over my father’s company.” Mai did remember that, and she remembered Zuko pretending that he was happy about the choice that was made for him. He never admitted, even to her, that he hadn’t wanted to work for his father. She could also tell that his silence on the matter came from unadulterated fear of his terrifying father.

“The day after graduation, I told him that I didn’t want to work with his business. Everything I learned about the company was horrific. Any human rights violation you can think of, my dad has done and covered up.” This also did not surprise Mai. Her own father worked for Ozai’s company, and loudly justified the CEO’s money-saving measures whenever they were brought up in the news. “I didn’t know what I wanted to do, but it wasn’t that.”

“He…” Zuko trailed off, before taking a deep breath. “He got mad. He did this,” and here Zuko turned, revealing the scar on the side of his face. Mai’s hands went to her mouth, unable to fully hide her shock and disbelief. She was, of course, wondering about the scar, but she never would have _dreamed_ that Zuko’s father was responsible for it. “He let me stay on his health insurance long enough to recover in the hospital, but after that I was cut off. Completely disowned.” 

Mai wanted to cry. Tom-Tom returned to them from another house and she drew him against her, hugging him tight to her chest just to feel his comforting weight in her arms. He protested loudly until she released him. She watched him skip ahead on the sidewalk, chattering animatedly to another kid wearing a robot costume. She couldn’t imagine her father hurting her in that way, or her brother. 

“And then?” she prompted in a hoarse whisper. 

Zuko shrugged. “I didn’t have anywhere to go. I moved in with my uncle. For a while, I thought I could make my father forgive me. I tried business school, and I hated it. Dropped out halfway through the first year.” He turned to look at her, the anguish clear in his amber eyes. “I didn’t want you to see me like this. I thought you deserved someone better.” 

Mai was having a hard time swallowing. It felt like there was a stone in her throat, cutting off her oxygen. She had been livid when he stopped communicating with her, thought that he had found some new girl and dumped her without even the courtesy of a phone call. He had been in a hospital bed fighting for his life while she had been cursing his name. 

“I would have been there,” she found herself saying. “I could have helped you.”

“I know you would have, and it would have been awful for you. I was so angry for a long time, constantly yelling and lashing out. Honestly, it’s a miracle my uncle didn’t kick me out too.” They had stopped again; the house that Tom-Tom was at was full of drunk older people, all of whom had come to the door to coo over his costume. He was basking in the attention, spinning around in a circle and bowing deeply. Zuko smiled at the display. Mai did not.

They reached the end of Zuko’s street and crossed the road, heading back towards his house on the other side. This time, Mai broke the silence. “So how are you doing now?”

“Good, actually. I moved back to go to the local community college. I’m studying creative writing.” Mai laughed, then immediately looked to Zuko to see if she had offended him. He was laughing too, so apparently not. “I know, it’s weird. But I really like it. I made some new friends, I think you’d really like them. We actually all live in the house together, but they went to a party tonight.”

They passed the rest of the walk back to Zuko’s house talking about lighter subjects: school, his new friends, the trials and tribulations of being an adult. Despite herself, Mai was having a good time, and she was disappointed when they finally reached Zuko’s front porch again.

“I guess this is it. I’d keep walking with you guys, but my feet are freezing.” Mai looked down and realized, for the first time, that Zuko was wearing flip flops.

“Zuko, it’s 35 degrees out!” she admonished him. “Why didn’t you put on shoes?”

He looked at her like she was an idiot. “I thought you were going to leave without me. I didn’t have time.” She blushed and thought that was very like the Zuko she had known before. He had once walked to her house in the rain to bring her a textbook she had forgotten. He let her pick terrible movies for them to watch so they could complain the whole time. He stayed on the phone with her until 3 AM on nights when she couldn’t fall asleep.

Mai followed Zuko up the porch steps, waiting as he unlocked his door and stepped inside, sighing in relief as his feet hit the warm carpet. He turned around and seemed surprised to still see her there. With sweating palms, she held out her phone to him. “Add your phone number, I don’t have it anymore.”

He tentatively took the phone, his eyes flickering up to her as he entered his number, as though she were using it as a distraction to slip away. “I’ll call you tomorrow,” she promised when he handed it back to her.

“Really?” he asked, one eyebrow going up. Mai thought back to that horrible summer when they were eighteen. She had been heartbroken when Zuko had dumped her because she had loved him. They had been too young and stupid for her to know that for sure, and yet she did. Some parts of Zuko had changed, but much of him hadn’t. Whatever horrible things his father had done to him, it hadn’t managed to completely break him down.

Impulsively, Mai leaned forward and kissed Zuko on the lips. It was a quick, chaste kiss; she barely registered the warmth of his lips against hers before she had pulled back. He looked comically surprised in the aftermath, but the goofy grin on his face and the red that dusted his cheeks told her the move hadn’t been entirely unwelcome. 

“Really.”

They didn’t have time for anything else. Tom-Tom was already pulling at her cape, threatening to choke her. There was barely time for her to lift one hand in an awkward goodbye, but he returned the gesture, still smiling. Mai smiled back and Zuko laughed. The press of her fake fangs against her lip reminded Mai that she probably looked very silly indeed.

“I like him,” Tom-Tom stated as they walked away, his hand once again in hers.

“I do too,” Mai agreed, the memory of the kiss still fresh in her mind.

**Author's Note:**

> Come chat with me on tumblr [@praetorqueenreyna](https://praetorqueenreyna.tumblr.com/)!


End file.
